In this striking monochromatic version of Georg Büchner’s seminal play about a man whose unbearable existence leads to madness and murder, film and theater director János Szász updates the drama, shifting Büchner’s play to contemporary Budapest, where Woyzeck works as a railway signalman in a wretched rail yard. Lajos Kovács gives a compelling performance as the hapless, humiliated Woyzeck, who finally cracks under the weight of a cruel boss and the discovery of his wife’s infidelity. Woyzeck was selected as the winner of the coveted European Film Award (the Felix) in 1994 for the Best European Young Film.